Northridge Property Manager

Using Unlicensed Employees of Brokers in Property Management

The license law both identifies and limits the duties that unlicensed employees of brokers may undertake in property management.

Any individual employed by a broker to assist in property management services on which the broker has a written management agreement that the broker procured from and negotiated with the owner, provided that such individual’s activities are explicitly authorized by the broker in a written agreement between the broker and the employee and provided that such activities are limited to one or more of the following:

(A) Delivering a lease application, a lease, or any amendment thereto to any person;

(B) Receiving a lease application, a lease, or any amendment thereto, a security deposit, rental payment, or any related payment for delivery to and made payable to the broker or the owner;

(C) Showing a rental unit to any person, provided that the employee is acting under the direct instructions of the broker, and executing leases or rental agreements;

(D) Providing information about a rental unit, a lease application, or a lease;

(E) Providing information to a tenant about the status of such tenant’s security deposit or rent payments or to an owner about the owner’s financial accounts and payments from the owner’s tenants; and

(F) Performing any ministerial acts that are explicitly authorized by the broker in a written agreement between the broker and the employee.

Any broker utilizing the services of such an employee shall be held responsible under this chapter for the activities of that individual [.]

Licensees should note particularly two points in this law. First, it defines “ministerial acts” that a management employee may perform as those acts that do not require the exercise of discretion by the employee or require a licensee’s judgment. Thus, an unlicensed employee may perform ministerial acts other than those listed in the law above if the broker authorizes them in a written agreement.

Second, a broker who utilizes unlicensed employees is directly accountable under the license law for any law violations by such employees even if the broker does not ratify or participate in those acts. A broker who utilizes licensed personnel in property management activities is not responsible for law violations by those licensees if the broker does not ratify or participate in those activities.

This exemption from licensure does not apply to firms. A management firm must obtain a broker’s license. This requirement applies whether the firm is a traditional “full” service management firm or a “specialty” service management firm, such as an apartment locator firm. The exemption from licensure is a choice such management brokerage firms can make for their employees.

From: http://www.grec.state.ga.us

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